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I am a physician and behavioral scientist. My research and writing explore the quirks in human nature that influence our lives -- the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness, and the way our society functions. (more...)- Have a question or just want to get in touch? Email me at peter.ubel@duke.edu
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Tag Archives: doctor-patient communication
How to Tell Grandpa He Is Too Old for Another Colonoscopy
Shutterstock Cancer screening can save lives: Mammographies reduce the chance women will die of breast cancer; and colonoscopies reduce the chance people will die of colon cancer. But should my 93-year-old father receive a screening colonoscopy? The test is uncomfortable, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cancer screening, doctor-patient communication
Don’t Let Your Physician Tell You What To Do Without Finding Out Your Goals
A recent study of men with early-stage prostate cancer found no difference in 10-year death rates, regardless of whether their doctors actively monitored the cancers for signs of growth or eradicated the men’s cancers with surgery or radiation. What does … Continue reading
Here’s How a Great Doctor Helps Her Patient Make a Cost-Conscious Treatment Decision
Sometimes in my research on physician/patient communication, I come across a doctor who is so good with her patients, I have to share their bedside manner with you. The most recent example is a (to remain unnamed) oncologist in the … Continue reading
Reducing Healthcare Waste: Don’t Expect Patients To Take The Lead
Lena Wright’s best friend was hunched over like a character from a French novel, with spinal bones so thin they would fracture with a fit of sneezing. Determined to avoid that fate, Wright (a pseudonym) asked her primary care doctor … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged doctor-patient communication, healthcare costs, medical decision making
The Wrong Way To React When Terminally Ill Patients Cry
Just three weeks earlier, she had noticed something strange about one of her breasts. An irregular shape. Her daughter brought her to the doctor, and soon the patient, I’ll call her Amanda, was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage “to be … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cancer, doctor-patient communication, medical decision making, shared decision making
Are Doctors Ready to Talk about Health Care Costs with Patients?
While I was on vacation, I spoke with reporter about a topic near and dear to my heart – importance of getting clinicians to talk about health care costs with their patients. The reporter put together a very nice piece … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Medical Decision Making
Tagged doctor-patient communication
How To Tell Someone That She Is Dying
Elizabeth’s breast cancer had already spread to her bones and was now invading lymph nodes in her right armpit, causing painful swelling that kept her up at night. Today, however, as she walked into her oncologist’s office, Elizabeth felt like … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Decisions, Medical Decision Making
Tagged doctor-patient communication
If Costs Are Unknown, Can Doctors Still Talk About Them?
I have been writing a bit lately on the need for healthcare providers to talk with their patients about healthcare costs, if for no other reason than to enable patients to determine whether they can afford to pay for the healthcare that … Continue reading
New Review of Critical Decisions
My heart was warmed by a new, and very positive, review of a Critical Decisions. I always find myself agreeing with people who liked my book. Funny thing. Anyway, here is the review: “This is a very belated review. And … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Decisions
Tagged doctor-patient communication, shared decision making
Want narcotics just ask for them?
A very disturbing new study was just published, in which physicians viewed a video of a patient with back pain asking for OxyContin. Twenty percent of docs said they would prescribe that med under that circumstance: …Too often, doctors prescribe … Continue reading
Posted in Medical Decision Making, Miscellaneous
Tagged doctor-patient communication, medical decision making